Home Office

Emergency Services: Greater Manchester

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the expected cost is of replacement of the Emergency Services Network in Greater Manchester; and how that project is to be funded.

Mike Penning: The Emergency Services Network (ESN) transition is being managed regionally. Greater Manchester is part of the North-West Region, incorporating North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Services, as well as Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Constabulary and Merseyside Police. The Core costs of operating the network are initially borne by the Home Office, but shared by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Welsh and Scottish Governments. The Non-core costs of connecting to the network and utilising it will be borne by local Emergency Services organisations and exact costs in Greater Manchester will be dependent upon take up of device and connection numbers to meet local operational needs. Taken together, the Core and Non-core costs of ESN are projected to cost £5 billion over the 15 year operating life of the network, saving in the region of £3 billion on the costs of the current Airwave service.

Greater Manchester Police: Finance

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the capacity of Greater Manchester police service to tackle organised crime and terrorism.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the capacity of Greater Manchester police service to tackle cyber-crime.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the capacity of Greater Manchester police service to tackle child exploitation and sexual offences.

Mike Penning: As the Chancellor announced in the Spending Review, no PCC will receive a reduction in cash funding over the Spending Review period if they choose to maximise their precept. It is an operational decision for chief officers, working with their PCC, to determine how best to allocate their available resources taking into account local and national priorities. In total, including national transformation funding and other funding, policing will see a £900 million increase in funding by 2019/20 in cash terms. We will continue to allocate specific funding for Counter Terrorism Policing over the course of the Spending Review period to ensure that the CT policing network has the capabilities it needs to tackle changing threats. The settlement will increase counter-terrorism policing funding in real terms in 16-17 to £670m.

Cybercrime: Autism

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of involvement of autistic people in cybercrime offences.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of vulnerability of people on the autism spectrum to various aspects of cybercrime.

Mr John Hayes: The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a non-ministerial government department, however it is accountable to Parliament via the Home Secretary. As such I have contacted the NCA to inform my answer to you.During the course of cyber-dependent crime operations over the last five years (including SOCA Cyber and Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit led operations) and based on recorded data following a subject's arrest we are unable to determine the level of involvement of autistic individuals in cybercrime offences, or the level of vulnerability of individuals on the autism spectrum to various other aspects of cyber crime.The NCA are now embarking on research in partnership with Academia, Private Industry and Special Interest groups to explore the possibility of links between Autism and cyber-dependent crime. Understanding gained from this research will inform the NCA on best practice for managing operations and educational Prevent activity.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK nationals living in other countries in the EU.

Mr David Lidington: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



There is no legal obligation on a British citizen living overseas to register with the British Embassy, but estimates suggest that more than 1.2 million UK citizens are living permanently elsewhere in the EU. These estimates do not include people who reside for part of the year in another Member State or British travellers.

Middle East: Refugees

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to Kurdish authorities in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria to support refugees in those regions.

Mr Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian aid to Iraq. This support is needs-based and provides life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable, including those in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). All UK humanitarian aid in Iraq is delivered through UN agencies, NGOs and other trusted humanitarian partners. We are providing funding to UNDP to build the capacity of the Joint Crisis Centre (JCC) within the Kurdistan Regional Government as part of this support. The JCC works closely with the UN, the Government of Iraq, and the international community to provide life-saving coordination.To date, we have allocated £561 million to support vulnerable people inside Syria. Roughly half our support is delivered by agencies and INGOs working out of Damascus with the consent of the regime, and half is delivered across borders from neighbouring countries without regime consent, under the authorisation of the UN Security Council. In line with the key humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, we work with trusted humanitarian partners with experience of operating in fragile and conflict affected states. These include UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs and civil society organisations. Through these partners, our support is reaching vulnerable Syrians in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

Honours: British Overseas Territories

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many badges of honour have been awarded by (a) Gibraltar, (b) the Falkland Islands, (c) the Cayman Islands and (d) Bermuda in each year since 2010.

James Duddridge: Since 2010 badges of honour have been awarded as follows;Gibraltar: 2010 – 5; 2011 – 6; 2012 – 6; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 6Falkland Islands: 2010 – 3; 2011 – 2; 2012 – 1; 2013 – 0; 2014 – 0; 2015 – 2Cayman Islands: 2010 – 4; 2011 – 8; 2012 – 2; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 2; 2015 – 1Bermuda: 2010 - 14; 2011 – 7; 2012 – 13; 2013 – 5; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 2

Iran: Guided Weapons

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of recent reports of Iran testing a new long-range ballistic missile.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Reports that Iran carried out ballistic missile tests earlier this month are of great concern. These tests are inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and the UK is raising these concerns in writing with the UN Security Council. The UK continues to urge Iran to refrain from further tests.

Palestinians: Schools

Maria Caulfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Palestinian Authority on allegations of its schools naming sports tournaments after terrorists.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: While we have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA). We regularly raise the issue of incitement with the PA. Most recently, on 9 March, our Consul General in Jerusalem met Prime Minister Hamdallah and raised our concerns on incitement. I also raised the issue with the PA during my visit on 17 February.

Israel: Palestinians

Maria Caulfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the rebuilding by Hamas of its cross-border tunnel infrastructure into Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of reports of Hamas rebuilding tunnels and we remain deeply concerned by Hamas' attempts to rearm and rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Andargachew Tsege

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to permit the European External Action Service to press for the release of Andargachew Tsege in Ethiopia.

James Duddridge: Whilst we welcome the concern of all international partners on Mr Tsege’s case, the UK will continue to lead lobbying efforts.The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart Dr Tedros 21 times, most recently on 13 February. I have also raised this case, most recently on 28 January. I have met with Mt Tsege's' partner, Yumi Hailemariam. We have asked that Mr Tsege has access to a lawyer and a legal route through which he can challenge his detention. The Foreign Secretary has asked the Ethiopians to set out a timeline in which this will happen.

Andargachew Tsege

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure the release of Andargachew Tsege in Ethiopia.

James Duddridge: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart Dr Tedros 21 times, most recently on 13 February. I have also raised this case, most recently on 28 January. I have met with Mr Tsege's partner, Yumi Hailemariam. We have asked that Mr Tsege has access to a lawyer and a legal route through which he can challenge his detention. The Foreign Secretary has asked the Ethiopians to set out a timeline in which this will happen.

Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made in preventing members of the Islamic State/Daesh from travelling across the border between Syria and Turkey.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK and Turkey work in close partnership to stop foreign terrorist fighters and extremist travellers from crossing the border between Syria and Turkey, including through practical cooperation between our police and security forces.The Turkish authorities are taking significant measures to prevent illegal crossings from Turkey to the conflict zone, including the deployment of additional personnel. Physical security at border crossings between Syria and Turkey is improving, although sections of the border remain porous.Between January and December 2015, 913 foreign nationals who are members of Daesh were arrested in Turkey, 435 of whom were caught passing to Syria.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from the UN High Commissioner on human rights and political prisoners in Bahrain and on the implications for UK policy on Bahrain of the human rights situation in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We regularly discuss human rights concerns with the UN Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights. On 3 March 2016, Baroness Anelay spoke to the High Commissioner in advance of the 31st session of the Human Rights Council.The UK continues to encourage and support the Government of Bahrain in ensuring full implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry recommendations, as well as those accepted in their UN Universal Periodic Review. We are offering UK assistance to help them achieve this and believe our approach is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain pressing for (a) the release of all people arrested in relation to peaceful protest and (b) reconsideration of the July 2014 amendments to the nationality laws in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. We also continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meets its human rights obligations and honour all conventions to which it is a party – including on citizenship rights. We regularly discuss human rights with the Government of Bahrain. I most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, on 8 March.

Israel: Palestinians

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on settlement activity in the West Bank.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement on 16 March condemning the Government of Israel's decision to expand settlements in the West Bank.On 18 February, during my visit to Israel, I discussed the issue of settlements with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterating the UK's position. Our Embassy regularly raises this issue with the Israeli authorities, making clear the UK’s firm and consistent opposition to illegal construction of settlements.

Sudan: Religious Freedom

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30739, what information he holds on (a) the legal status of Telahoon Rata and Rev. Hassan Taour and (b) whether their legal team has been granted access to them.

James Duddridge: Telahoon Rata and Rev Hassan Taour are being held in detention by the National Intelligence and Security Services under powers granted to them by the National Security Act 2010. They have not been granted access to their lawyers.Our Ambassador in Khartoum met the Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments and the Sudanese Director of Church Affairs in February and raised the cases of Mr Talahon and Rev. Hassan.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Holiday Accommodation: Prices

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the findings of the (a) French parliament and (b) German competition authority on the effects of rate parity clauses on competition in the hospitality sector; and what  plans he has to ban rate parity clauses.

Nick Boles: My Department has not conducted an assessment of these findings and has no plans to ban such clauses. Any assessment of the impact of rate parity clauses on competition and consumers falls within the remit of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority.One of the CMA’s predecessors, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), launched an investigation into alleged resale price maintenance in arrangements between a hotel group and two online travel agents (OTAs), Booking.com and Expedia. The OFT accepted commitments from the OTAs concerned but in September 2014 the Competition Appeal Tribunal partly upheld an appeal by a third party, Skyscanner, and remitted the case back to the CMA for consideration. On 16 September 2015, following a fresh look at the case, the CMA decided to close the investigation on administrative priority grounds. The case closure summary can be found on the CMA’s website. The CMA keeps these issues under review and is working closely with other national competition authorities and the European Commission to do this.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many names were provided to Ministers to enable them to take a formal decision on the appointment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Hove on 10 March, Official Report, Vol 607, Col 426.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people applied to the Pubs Code Adjudicator vacancy; and how many such people were (a) longlisted and (b) shortlisted.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East on 10 March, Official Report, Vol 607, Col 428.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people were invited to interviews for the post of Pubs Code Adjudicator; and how many people attended such interviews.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East on 10 March, Official Report, Vol 607, Col 428.

Sign Language

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the devolution of skills policy to local authorities on the development of British Sign Language and sign language interpreting skills.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The Department for Business Innovation and Skills supports British Sign Language (BSL), lip reading and managing hearing loss provision in England through the Adult Education Budget. Providers receive funding for this provision as they do for all other courses. In the academic year 2018/19, subject to readiness conditions being met, we intend to devolve the Adult Education Budget to certain Combined Authorities which have signed devolution deals[1]. In such areas, subject to necessary Orders being passed by Parliament, functions relating to the Adult Education Budget will transfer to the Combined Authority. The Combined Authority will assume responsibility for commissioning adult education provision, including in relation to BSL and sign language as it judges appropriate to meet local needs. Some providers, including Specialist Designated Institutions, are currently funded nationally. Their post-devolution funding arrangements will be confirmed in the coming months. Skills provision in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and the assessment and adequacy of BSL provision is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.  [1] To date, deals have been agreed with: Sheffield City Region; Liverpool City Region; West Midlands; North East; Tees Valley; Greater Manchester; Greater Lincolnshire; East Anglia; West of England

Written Questions: Government Responses

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to answer Written Questions 29167 and 29238, tabled on 1 March 2016 and Written Question 29372, tabled on 2 March 2016.

Joseph Johnson: I have replied to the hon Member.

Companies: Registration

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many companies have cited in their registration at Companies House their registered office, the address of another business or private individual which they are not authorised to use in each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry: Companies House has received the following number of complaints that companies have cited as their registered office, the address of another business or private individual that they allegedly are not authorised to use.YearNumber of Cases2013/141,2702014/151,3852015/16 (to date)1,517 Provisions contained in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 will be commenced on 6 April. These will allow the Registrar of Companies to act in the event of a complaint of this nature about a registered office.

Exports: Government Assistance

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he  will make it his policy to create a single online platform for accessing government support for increasing exports for UK companies.

Anna Soubry: My noble Friend Lord Maude of Horsham made a statement to the House of Lords on Tuesday 19 January on the Government’s strategy to support trade. This new operating model set out in the statement is seeing UK Trade & Investment develop new services that provide direct support to businesses, including developing a single digital platform through which businesses can access the HMG and private sector support they need to succeed.

European Economic Area: Membership

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 27866, what powers EEA states which are not EU members have to (a) terminate and (b) change the terms of the membership of the EEA of another EEA state which is not a member of the EU.

Anna Soubry: As set out by the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), the contracting parties of the Agreement are the EU, the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Agreement does not set out what powers Contracting Parties have over the termination or change of others’ engagement with the Agreement. The only mention in the Agreement of termination is that each Contracting Party may withdraw from this Agreement provided it gives at least twelve months' notice in writing to the other Contracting Parties. Meanwhile, the Agreement states that any European State becoming a member of the EU or of the European Free Trade Association may apply to become a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and that the terms and conditions for such participation shall be the subject of an agreement between the Contracting Parties and the applicant State.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Billing

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department owed in late payments to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry: When making payments, the core Department does not differentiate between small, medium and large enterprises as many small and medium sized businesses can be found at various tiers of the procurement chain.The Department takes prompt payment very seriously and records show that in the current financial year to the end of February 2016, 96.4% of all valid invoices (by volume) were paid within 5 working days. When looking at the overall value, this equates to 99.8% paid within 5 working days and 99.99% of invoices were paid within the 30 day standard contractual terms.

Public Houses

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what date his Department plans to publish the final version of the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry: The Government intends to bring the regulations into force by the end of May 2016.

Employment: Telephone Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30738 on employment: telephone services, what the equivalent data is for each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: The attached table shows the total number of enquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) by trade sector and whether the call relates to Employment Agency Standards, the Agricultural National Minimum Wage (NMW), Gangmasters Licensing Authority, Health and Safety Executive or NMW issues, where call topic information is collected, between 2009/10 and 2014/15.



Enquiries to PWRH 2009 - 2015
(Excel SpreadSheet, 48.5 KB)

EU Grants and Loans

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much (a) European Regional Development and (b) European Structural funding (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) each region of England will receive in each year between 2014 and 2020.

Anna Soubry: The amount allocated by year to each operational programme for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the 2014-2020 period is set out in table 1.6 of the United Kingdom’s Partnership Agreement with the European Commission which can be found on GOV.UK at ‘European Structural and Investment Funds: UK Partnership Agreement’ and is attached.Within England, notional allocations for ERDF and ESF were made on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership areas. The total allocations to each Local Enterprise Partnership area for the 2014-2020 period can be found on the GOV.UK website at ‘EU Structural Funds: UK allocations 2014 to 2020’ and is attached.



Local Enterprise Partnership allocation figures
(PDF Document, 177.33 KB)




ERDF & ESF allocation figures
(PDF Document, 93.66 KB)

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Poverty

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the EU is taking to tackle poverty in (a) the Middle East, (b) South Asia and (c) Africa; and what the Government's contribution is to those steps.

Mr Nick Hurd: The European Union (EU), including its Member States, is the world’s largest aid donor. In 2014, the EU and its Member States spent nearly £50bn of Official Development Assistance (ODA), which represents around half of global ODA. The UK has a powerful voice on development through its EU Membership and has achieved real changes to the EU development programme in line with UK priorities. More detail on the EU development programme can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/2015-annual-report-web_en.pdf

Developing Countries: Malaria

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, to what her Department allocated spending on malaria in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and how that spending was disbursed between multilateral and bilateral channels.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2013-14 DFID malaria spend was approximately £536 million, of which 66 per cent was provided bilaterally and 34 per cent multilaterally. In 2014-15 DFID malaria spend was approximately £428 million, of which 75 per cent was provided bilaterally and 25% multilaterally. The methodology is detailed in the Malaria Framework of Results. This can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67642/malaria-framework-for-results.pdf.

EU Aid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which humanitarian aid operations the Government has been involved in that (a) have involved other EU member states and (b) have been EU-led.

Mr Nick Hurd: To increase transparency and accountability, EU Member States are required to input details of all humanitarian aid allocations on to the European Emergency and Disaster Response Information System (EDRIS). Information on all humanitarian assistance provided by EU Member States globally can be found on EDRIS.Response to Humanitarian Emergency is led and co-ordinated by the affected country. This is the case for humanitarian emergencies that occur in EU Member States and globally. We would not expect any humanitarian response to be EU-led. Individual EU Member States lead on humanitarian operations within their sovereign territories but can seek EU assistance through the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism and international assistance through the UN.

EU Aid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what international humanitarian aid exercises her Department has been involved in that have (a) involved EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK participated in the Triplex 2013 Exercise which was led by the International Humanitarian Partnership and co-funded by the European Union. The Triplex Exercise brings together EU Civil Protection Teams and Modules with the United Nations, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and military, to strengthen preparedness and coordination of an effective response in the first phase of a large-scale humanitarian emergency.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has to support efforts to achieve goal 6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on water and sanitation.

Mr Nick Hurd: In the manifesto in April 2015 and in the UK Aid Strategy published in November 2015, we committed to help 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation in support of goal 6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We will achieve this target through projects managed by our Country Offices, through projects managed from the UK and through our contributions to multilateral organisations such as the World Bank. We will continue to invest in country and regional programmes to improve water resources management, water efficiency and improve water quality, as well as drive value for money.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of overseas development assistance was spent by departments other than her Department in each of the last six years; and what estimate her Department has made of that proportion for each year until 2019-20.

Mr Nick Hurd: The information requested for the years 2009-2014 is published in ‘Statistics on International Development 2015’, which is available from our website www.dfid.gov.uk. Table 3 gives the breakdown of the percentage of Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by DFID and departments other than DFID. My Department will publish provisional UK ODA figures for 2015 on the 1st April. Between 2016/17 and 2019/20: DFID will spend an estimated 72% of UK ODA; other departments and funds will spend an estimated 22% of UK ODA; and the remaining 6% will be non-departmental spend such as debt relief and gift aid. This information is based on ODA budget allocations by the government in order to meet its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA in each calendar year. Adjustments will be made to the ODA budget to reflect the latest economic forecasts throughout the spending review period.

Libya: Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31131, how much financial assistance her Department plans to provide UNOCHA for its work in Libya during the next financial year.

Mr Nick Hurd: In the next financial year, DFID will fund a secondment to OCHA to support coordination of the humanitarian response. Exact figures are to be finalised, though we expect it to be of the order of £50,000. We are keeping the humanitarian situation in Libya under review including funding requirements in the next financial year and stand by ready to adapt our response in order to meet humanitarian needs.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Steatite

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, 25 February 2016, HCWS549, on offender management, what financial penalties were incurred by his Department as a result of terminating the contract to develop a bespoke tagging product with Steatite Limited; and how much his Department spent on that contract before its termination.

Dominic Raab: The relevant termination costs are subject to ongoing commercial discussions. We have spent approximately £21m on programme mobilisation to date. The majority of this was spent on investment in the telecommunications network, mapping software, monitoring service and other programme costs which the MoJ will be able to reuse for ongoing electronic monitoring work.

Antisemitism

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech of 15 March 2016 to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism Conference, what legal changes he has made following a campaign led by Jewish Human Rights Watch.

Dominic Raab: On 3 October 2015, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the Government’s position on boycott, divestment and sanctions, including legal changes.

Ministry of Justice: Staff

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.287 of Budget 2016, what estimate he has made of how many civil servants will be relocated in his Department as a result of the programme to create centres of expertise outside the capital.

Mike Penning: By the middle of this Parliament, MoJ will distribute more of its staff to locations around the country. We are currently developing options for how to do this, including the exact numbers that will be relocated to the regions.

Knives: Crime

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people aged 18 to 20 have received custodial sentences of under 12 months for knife crime offences in London since 2010.

Dominic Raab: Knife crime has no place on our streets and the Government continues to work with the police and partners, including retailers, to ensure that we reduce violence and knife crime. The latest criminal justice statistics show that more people are getting custodial sentences for carrying a knife, and for longer. Information on knife crimes is published regularly on gov.uk. The latest publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-october-to-december-2015 The table below shows number of offenders aged 18-20 sentenced to immediate custody for less than 12 months for knife possession offences in London, 2010- 2014 the latest annual statistics. Table 1: Number of offenders aged 18-20 sentenced to immediate custody for less than 12 months for knife possession offences in London, 2010- 2014  YearNumber of Offenders  20101492011166201211420131282014132  Source: Ministry of Justice, Police National Computer (PNC)Notes: 1. Data relates to offences prosecuted by a London Police Force and not for offenders that reside in London.2. All data have been taken from the MoJ extract of the Police National Computer. This includes details of all convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings given for recordable offences (see www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1139/schedule/made for definition). It is therefore possible that some offenders presented in the table above have previously also received convictions for offences not recorded on the PNC.3. Knife possession offences include:Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Prevention of Crime Act 1953 Section 1.• Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 139 A (2) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 Section 4 (1).• Having an article with a blade or a point in a public place. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 139 (1) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 Section 3 (1).• Having an article with a blade or a point on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 139 (2) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 Section 4 (1).• Threaten with an offensive weapon in a public place.• Threaten with a blade/sharply pointed article on a school premises• Threaten with an offensive weapon on a school premises.• Threaten with a blade/sharply pointed article in a public place.

Anti-semitism

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism on 15 March 2016, what legal changes he was referring to in that speech.

Dominic Raab: I refer the honourable member to the answer given to 31430 on 30th March 2016.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Research

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what defence technology research and development programmes the Government is cooperating with other EU member states.

Mr Julian Brazier: As stated in National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161), as part of being international by design, we will participate in future international collaborative programmes in both the defence and security sectors where we have the right technology, skills and industrial capabilities, and where we can reduce our costs and share technology to mutual benefit, strengthening our defence relationships. We will work closely with, learn from and invest in joint research programmes with our allies and partners, many of whom are pursuing similar innovation initiatives. France has important technology programmes, especially in aerospace, maritime and space capabilities. We will also build on our important security relationships with partners, and with multilateral forums, including NATO.

Armed Forces: Carbon Emissions

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the carbon emissions of UK forces operating abroad were in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Julian Brazier: Information on the Department's carbon emissions can be found in the Sustainable Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2014/15, using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf These figures cover carbon emissions from the Defence estate, including overseas sites and domestic business travel; the Department does not hold data on emissions from UK military operational activity overseas.

Gurkhas: Pensions

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on reaching a settlement with Gurkha soldiers who retired before 2000.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Government and the people of the United Kingdom hold the Gurkhas in the highest esteem and have done so throughout their 200 years of service to the Crown. Successive Governments have taken steps to ensure that the service provided by Gurkhas is appropriately recognised and reflects the terms and nature of that service, including in relation to pensions.These sentiments were most recently confirmed in the previous Coalition Government's response to the All Party Parliamentary Group report on historic Gurkha grievances and the statement made by my hon. Friend the former Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Ms Soubry) on 29 January 2015 HCWS234.This reaffirmed successive Governments' long standing approach to public sector pension provisions which is that an individual qualifies for a pension according to the rules of that scheme at the time, and that improvements to public sector pension or compensation schemes should not be introduced retrospectively because of the burden such an approach would place on the Exchequer.



20150115 Hansard extract on Gurkha Welfare
(Word Document, 15.83 KB)

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: War Pensions

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel who have made a claim under the Mercantile Marine Scheme as part of the War Pension Scheme have stated that their injury or illness was a result of deployment to Operation Granby whilst working in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Mr Julian Brazier: Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2015 (the latest data available), there were 20 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel who made a claim under the Mercantile Marine Scheme as part of the War Pension Scheme. None of these personnel stated that their injury or illness was a result of deployment to Operation Granby. In line with Defence Statistics' rounding policy, all figures of five or more have been rounded to the nearest five.

Army: Northern Ireland

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to maintain the Royal Irish Aftercare Service in support of veterans of Operation Banner in Northern Ireland.

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding he plans to allocate to the Royal Irish Aftercare Service in the next financial year.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Ulster Defence Regiment and The Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) Aftercare Service provides a vital service to support all veterans and dependants of those Regiments as well as sick and wounded personnel who leave the Armed Forces and wish to settle in Northern Ireland. Around £900,000 has been allocated to deliver this service in financial year 2016-17. Looking ahead as part of our commitment to deliver the most effective and efficient services to our veterans the Ministry of Defence is considering integrating the Aftercare Service into the MOD's broader veterans welfare organisation, Veterans UK.

Defence: Partnerships

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many partnerships are in operation between UK and non-UK EU-based companies in the area of defence; and what the total value of those partnerships is.

Mr Julian Brazier: This information is not held in the format requested.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseeker's Allowance: Voluntary Work

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on jobseeker's allowance claimants taking up volunteer work of the requirement for them to spend 35 hours each week searching for work; and whether that assessment was conducted prior to implementation of that policy.

Priti Patel: There is no requirement for Jobseekers Allowance claimants to undertake 35 hours of job search a week. Claimants must however be actively seeking work in each week of their claim. This means they are expected to do all that they reasonably can to give them the best prospects of securing employment. We recognise the benefits that volunteering can offer in enhancing a claimant’s prospects of finding suitable employment. Time spent volunteering may therefore be taken into account when considering whether a person has taken all appropriate steps to actively seek work each week.

Children: Maintenance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to extend the remit of the Child Maintenance Group to cover the investigation of cases in which a non-resident parent has failed to declare income to HM Revenue and Customs.

Priti Patel: The Child Maintenance Group (CMG) is currently developing a referral criteria for cases where the non-resident parent has either not declared information to HMRC or, where the information received from HMRC is challenged by the parent with care or where it seems entirely improbable by the caseworker. The criteria will seek to ensure that there is some tangible substance to the allegation that will enable the Financial Investigations Unit to act proportionately. Once the criteria are approved, it will be available to all CMG caseworkers to identify cases for investigation. CMG are committed to having these enhanced processes in place to trial and evaluate, within the next two months.

Children: Maintenance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the criteria are for referral of a child maintenance case to the Child Maintenance Group's Financial Investigations Unit.

Priti Patel: The current referral criteria requires the non-resident parent to have agreed the income figure provided by HMRC and for this to have then been challenged by the parent with care. However, it has been recognised that this criteria does not identify all potential triggers for referral and does not take into account those non-resident parents that do not respond to Child Maintenance Group (CMG) contact. Non-resident parents are told in their calculation letters to contact CMG if anything used in the calculation is wrong. CMG intend therefore, to use this instruction as a gateway to investigate cases where the HMRC information is challenged. The criteria for these challenges are currently being formulated, to ensure the Financial Investigations Unit act proportionately and will be delivered to all CMG caseworkers as soon as it is agreed.

Children: Maintenance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27465, what the budget is for the Child Maintenance Group's Financial Investigations Unit for 2015-16.

Priti Patel: The Financial Investigations Unit does not have a separate budget, but there is sufficient funding in the wider Child Maintenance Group budget for the planned level of staffing in the Unit.

EU Globalisation Fund: Iron and Steel

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2016 to Question 24713, if he will apply to the EU's Globalisation Adjustment Fund for funding for the UK steel industry.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 November 2015 to question UIN 14404.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the discretionary housing payments scheme in preventing households in exceptional circumstances having to pay the under-occupancy penalty.

Justin Tomlinson: For 2015/16 we have provided £60 million in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to help protect individuals affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy and we have protected this support at £60 million for 2016/17 Since 2013, £25 million of the Discretionary Housing Payment funding for the removal of the spare room subsidy has been allocated to support disabled people living in significantly adapted accommodation, including any adaptations made for disabled children. This funding support remains unchanged for 2016/17. In the last financial year, the majority of local authorities spent less than or 100 per cent of their funding which indicates that they had sufficient funds to meet demand. In the first six months of this financial year (2015/16) the majority of local authorities had spent less than 50 per cent of their Discretionary Housing Payment allocation.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: Leeds

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 1.301 of Budget 2016, how much funding will be made available to support delivery of the final phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme; and what proportion of that funding is additional to the £2.3 billion capital programme previously announced.

Rory Stewart: The Government has announced a new scheme for Leeds and the wider Aire catchment, which will provide flood defence for the area north of the station. Subject to business case approval, £35 million has been made available for this scheme up to 2021, with a commitment to ensure that the project is completed. This funding is in addition to the £2.3 billion capital programme.

Flood Control: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 1.242 of Budget 2016, how much of the additional £700 million for flood defence and resilience will be spent in Lancashire.

Rory Stewart: Of the additional £700 million announced in the Budget to be spent on flood defences and resilience, £150m has been allocated to new schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria. The £40m per year increase in floods maintenance will be spent nationwide according to need. The remaining funding will be allocated following the outcome of the National Flood Resilience Review in the summer.

Flood Control: Leeds

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Treasury on the business case for delivery of the final phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme.

Rory Stewart: Ahead of the Budget, Defra and the Treasury discussed support for communities in areas at high risk of flooding, including Leeds. A scoping study for further work in Leeds is underway and due for completion by the end of March this year. This will lead to the development of a full feasibility study and business case looking at how Leeds could be better protected. An additional £35 million has been made available to support work in Leeds up to 2021, with a commitment that the Government will provide funding to support the completion of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme in later years subject to business case approval.

Flood Control: River Medway

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of funding from the new measures announced in paragraph 1.205 of Budget 2016 she plans to allocate for flood defences on the River Medway and its tributaries.

Rory Stewart: Of the additional £700 million announced at the Budget to be spent on flood defences and resilience, £150m has been allocated to new schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria. The £40m per year increase in floods maintenance will be spent nationwide according to need. The remaining funding will be allocated following the outcome of the National Flood Resilience Review in the summer.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Help to Buy Scheme

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of people who have purchased homes under the Help to Buy scheme were from BAME communities since the introduction of that scheme.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not collate this information centrally.

Homelessness

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to help more homeless people rent privately.

Mr Marcus Jones: One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. At Budget, we went one step further and announced £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.We’re determined to create a bigger, better private rented sector and are attracting billions of pounds of investment to build homes specifically for private rent, which will increase choice for tenants. Our £1 billion Build to Rent fund will deliver up to 10,000 new rental homes, with over 4,500 already started, and our £10 billion of debt guarantees programme will also support the delivery of new rental homes, as well as up to 30,000 additional affordable homes.We have also already made a significant investment of nearly £14 million for Crisis to develop a programme to help single homeless people access private rented sector accommodation. Over 10,000 people have been helped, with over 90% maintaining tenancies for at least 6 months

Homelessness

James Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the local government finance settlement announced in the 2015 Spending Review his Department plans to spend on homelessness prevention in each year up to 2019-20; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has always been clear that we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

HM Treasury

Minimum Wage: Fines

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average penalty awarded against employers who failed to pay the national minimum wage was in each year since 2012.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to them. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker. A further increase in penalties will come into force in April 2016 and will increase the penalty percentage from 100% to 200% of the underpayments owed to each worker, up to the existing maximum. In 2014/15, HMRC issued 705 penalties totalling £934,660. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 205613 for information on previous years.

Tourism: VAT

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a reduction in VAT for small businesses in the tourism sector.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has reviewed the economic case for a reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector. In our view there is insufficient evidence to justify a reduction in VAT. Reducing VAT on all tourism related activities would have a potential cost in excess of £10 billion in the first year alone.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Mike Freer: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many properties valued at or over £1 million were sold in October to December (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and how much was raised in stamp duty land tax in each of those periods.

Mr David Gauke: The table below summarises estimates for the number of and yield from property transactions between October and December 2014 and 2015. The estimates for 2014 include transactions in Scotland whereas estimates for 2015 do not because SDLT ceased to be applicable to Scottish transactions from 1 April 2015. The figures for the 2015-16 financial year are provisional.   October to December 2014October to December 2015Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Number)4,8005,300Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Stamp Duty Land Tax)£577 million£674 millionNon-Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Number)3,8003,600Non-Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Stamp Duty Land Tax)£708 million£731 millionTotal Stamp Duty Land Tax£2.87 billion£2.91 billion

Greece: Loans

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received on progress made by Greece in implementing the conditions of the 2015 EU bailout package; and if he will press for steps to improve transparency and monitor use of the bailout funds.

Mr David Gauke: While Greece remains in the euro, its financial stability is the responsibility of the euro area. The UK Government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. The UK is therefore not involved in the review of Greece’s euro area bailout package agreed in 2015. Ministers and officials routinely meet with international counterparts to discuss economic and financial issues within the euro area and wider European Union, including ongoing financial assistance programmes.

Monetary Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK economy of the use of helicopter funds by the European Central Bank.

Mr David Gauke: HM Treasury monitor the impact of developments in the global economy, including those in the Euro Area, on an ongoing basis. To date, the European Central Bank have not implemented “Helicopter Money”. The ECB President noted on March 10 that the ECB “hadn’t really studied the concept”.

Social Mobility

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of measures in Budget 2016 on social mobility.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has carefully considered the impact of the tax and benefit reforms introduced in Budget. It is committed to improving social mobility by moving towards a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society. The Government published distributional analysis to accompany Budget 2016 which shows that the richest are paying a greater share of tax as a result of this government’s policies while the share of spending going to the poorest has been protected.

Cabinet Office

Crime: Death

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of deaths in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland resulted from (i) traffic offences and (ii) other offences in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Traffic Offence Deaths
(PDF Document, 114.51 KB)